School nurse Mandy Palo, known on TikTok as Mrs. Palo, has carved out a unique niche for herself in the digital world, blending her professional expertise with the vibrant, engaging format of social media.
Her venture into social media began with an Instagram account to share school nursing tips, but it was TikTok that truly captured her attention. Initially joining the platform in 2019 to understand its appeal among her students, Mandy’s content evolved during the COVID-19 shutdown, where she used humor and educational content to connect with students remotely. Her TikTok presence has since grown, with her students affectionately dubbing her “TikTok famous,” although she remains humble about her reach.
Mandy’s content primarily revolves around funny anecdotes from her middle school nursing experiences, educational insights into the scope of school nursing, and practical advice for parents and educators. She emphasizes the importance of safety and professionalism, never filming with students or during her contracted work hours, ensuring her primary role as a school nurse remains her top priority.
Mrs. Palo’s approach not only entertains but also educates her audience, shedding light on the often misunderstood role of school nurses. Her story is a testament to how social media can be leveraged to bridge the gap between healthcare professionals and their community, making education and engagement fun and informative.
Hi, I’m Mandy! On TikTok, I am Mrs. Palo. I’ve been a Registered Nurse since 2008 and began my career in pediatric primary care. From there I spent a few years in outpatient mental health and then made the jump to school nursing. I’ve been working in school nursing since 2015 and became a CSN in 2017. I work in Bucks County, PA, and have been with my current district since 2018. Many of our teachers had “work Instagram” accounts so I created one to feature school nursing and tips from my office for students and parents to follow. I work in a middle school, and TikTok is honestly all our students would talk about. They’d be doing TikTok dances, and quoting trending sounds, and it consumed so much of their screen time. In 2019, I downloaded TikTok just to see what it was about. I had no idea what I was doing, just scrolling videos and learning about the app. Then the COVID-19 shutdown happened in 2020 and TikTok became a way that some of our educators and I could make funny videos to connect with students. 5 years later, and I’m still making content!
Now, being in the age of social media, you’d think I’d be nervous that a student has found my TikTok, I actually don’t mind. My students all say I’m “TikTok famous” and while I am far from it, I have some pride that students are watching videos and hoping they are learning something. I never follow back students and I don’t film videos with students – we have to remember there is a safety aspect when using the internet! Also, I never film videos during my contracted time as we are nurses first, and my main priority is to be a school nurse.
I learned how algorithms work and how you can curate your feed with videos you like and share. My community is mostly parents and educators. I began sharing information about school nursing, middle school, and parenting-related videos. I have begun connecting with nurses, and more specifically school nurses. Most of my videos are funny anecdotes from working in a middle school but sometimes I share more information like why legally we cannot give a child cold medicine. I also create bulletin boards and letterboard videos. Many people find them funny or helpful. I get some negative comments from users who have no idea about our roles or scope of practice. There is so much that is not known about the world of school nursing and I hope that some short 10-second videos can help spread the word of what we truly do.
If anyone is on TikTok, give me a follow and send me a message so we can connect.
or if you’re on Instagram, visit me there @klingernurse, a lot of my TikTok content gets shared there as well!
Here are some fun examples of Mrs. Palo’s TikTok content:
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Published by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN is a Nationally Certified School Nurse, in her 24th year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the New Jersey Director for the National Association of School Nurses. She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past program mentor. Robin has been honored by multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. She serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing. Robin writes The Relentless School Nurse, a popular blog. Her extensive work in school nursing was included as a case study in the National Academies of Medicine Future of Nursing 2030 report. You can follow Robin on Twitter at @RobinCogan.
View all posts by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
